Kageryū-class Cruiser
The Kageryū class is the third series of cruisers built by Khoi Tran, and the second built by the KISDF. Originally planned as a one off cruiser, two more of the class; the Rairyū and their half-sister the Karyū, were built. The lead ship is currently the flagship of the KISDF of the AIF navy. They saw much combat and for the Kageryū and Karyū , major refits and rebuild to make them more modern warships. The Kageryū class are some of the most powerful cruisers in the BSC world outside VIP and Hansa/SWC. With powerful guns and armour, they have seen more combat than any other cruiser in the KISDF. Beginnings During wars with pirates, the KIN, later to be called the KISDF, were aware that their battleships and battlecruisess were not up to the job of fighting the pirates' cruisers and destroyers. As such, a idea was put forward to build 46 cm armed cruserss to combat them. The result of this idea was the KISDF Endevour. She was a powerful ship for her type, and outclassed the pirates' cruisers and even the IKN Reliant. However, she had flaws. She was not the best armed, nor she had the adequate protection. Another concern was her stability, for she was prone to the high seas. So the KISDF drew plans from this to build a cruiser that fixed all these problems, and at the same time, retained the speed and manoeuvability of the Endevour on a slightly bigger and longer hull. DesignCategory:Vessel Classes by Khoi Tran Hull The hull of the Kageryū is similar to that of the Endevour, but slightly longer and beamier. She is 320.8 metres long, and 50 metres wide. Like Endevour, the Kageryū class used a combination of a 600 mm belt, and ballast to keep the ship stable. As the ship got heavier, more ballast was removed and replaced with armour. During the rebuild, the 600 mm belt was extended right to the bottom of the ship to provide the maximin protection against torpedoes and underwater shells. The ship also received torpedo bulges. To accommodate the new technology and to keep the speed, the ship was lengthened to 370.8 metres, making it much bigger than at first. Weapons Like Endevour, the Kageryū class had many changes in weaponry. she was built with 4 46 cm triple turrets, 4 MK 45 5 inch gun, 20 Triple AAA guns and 2 Triple Torpedo Tubes. Sometimes, 2 Type B Torpedo Tubes were added for additional torpedo strikes, but they didntt last very long. During her third refit, her firepower changed dramatically. 2 MK 45s were removed, as well as her triple torpedo tubes and her AAA guns were reduced from 20 to 13. However, 8 Type B Torpedo Tubes were added, as well as an impressive 4 40 cm twin guns to supplement the 46 cm guns. Originally, they were all placed in wing turrets, but during the forth rebuild, two of them were moved in superfiring positions over the 46 cm guns. Her 46 cm guns were also upgraded, which required new turrets, which were added in her forth rebuild. Karyū had a different gun layout. one rear 46 cm gun was removed, as well as her torpedoes. Her rebuild didn't add any 40 cm guns, but instead improved her airwing. She retained the same number of 46 cm guns throughout her life, as well as at least 13 AAA guns. Appearance As built, Kageryū had a similar superstructure to Endevour: a destroyer mast and a small superstructure. This was okay for the time, but soon, a new bridge was required to accommodate new equipment. The result was a pagoda mast, which would prove to be very successful. So successful, it would be used in her forth rebuild. Her paintjob hasn't changed a lot. It gerenally consists if dark greys and whites. During her forth refit, yellow bands were added to indicate the new turrets. ServiceCategory:AIF shipsCategory:Flagship of UserCategory:Vessel Classes by Khoi Tran Kageryū and her sisters all saw plenty of action. Their first combat was against Japanese pirates when in service in the AIF. Soon after, they were used to escort the main carrier fleets. Around this time, they were added to the AFOH's First Cruiser Division. Soon, after many battles, Karyū was chosen for a conversion into a carrier hybrid. She was taken out of battle, so tt was a major relief when she returned to service. All three sisters were in all the major wars and battles the AIF and AFOH fought in. But soon, after Khoi left his command, the sisters, like much of the KISDF, were scuttled in the port. But Rairyū's charges were more damaging than her sisters, so when she was scuttled, most of the structure was destroyed. This ended her combat career as a warship. But when she was raised, she was converted into a battery on the shores. Here, she became a small fortress protecting the islands from an invasion. The two others however were raised and rebuilt to a more modern look, equipping them with new guns and new radars. Armour was also improved, as well as the torpedo armament. Both ships became once agian the flagships of the KISDF when Agent Kage became leader. Both ships then took part in major battles in multiple conflicts. The strength of the two sisters was proven in a battle against the IRF. The two ships, along with the recently modernised Ersatz Raider and Yokomokyoto, fought a fleet of missile cruisers with 4 Lancer class cruisers. The sistess sustained much damage and were forced to withdraw, but the heavy armour managed to withstand the missiles and shells fired at them. The heavy firepower also help sink at least 3 enermy cruisers. After the battle, Kageryū was rebuilt to improve armour and AAA defence.